Obituary for Barbara Spence Hopkins (Spence)
We celebrate the life of Barbara Jane Spence Hopkins, loving mother of four children, grandmother of seven. In her ninety-one years, she shared humor and unwavering kindness with everyone she encountered on her journey.
Growing up in Illinois, she taught her sister Sarane how to read and play the piano. She studied Literature at Vassar College, graduating in 1953, and earned a graduate degree at Stanford University where she excelled at theatrical costume design. This led to interesting and creative work as a costume designer for the Dinah Shore show in California, and for NBC and the Rockettes in New York City, and later on for local community theater. She put her enthusiasm for the English language to good use when she reentered the workforce after her marriage, as a skilled copy editor and documentation librarian, and she was happiest when discussing or sharing books with friends.
Barbara loved music and the arts, and loved to travel. In the 1960s, Barbara raised her children with her husband while he worked overseas, living in Germany, Paris, and Thailand, and explored the local culture with her family. She continued to travel in retirement, especially enjoying a cruise to Alaska with all of her children and grandchildren, and was deeply inspired by trips to the ancient Native American sites in the Southwest and to the pyramids at Teotihuacan outside of Mexico City.
She visited art exhibits every place she traveled, and loved to share musical events with family and friends that ranged from local Jazz Festivals to a subscription to the Boston Lyric Opera. The opera was a special treat and she always discussed the music, absurd story lines, and spectacular costumes after every performance. Barbara felt a strong connection with the natural world around her. While living In New England she went to Plum Island to recharge, watching ocean waves break on the sand, breathing in the salty air. After moving to Florida, she loved to walk through Corkscrew Swamp near the Everglades, to sit listening to the birds and commune with nature. It was a special day when she heard an owl.
In retirement, Barbara returned to a family home in Bonita Springs, passed down to her from a great-aunt. One of the first homes built in the area in 1926, a time when there was no road from Tampa, materials were brought in along the waterways. She was happy living in the house she had loved and visited since she was a baby. She enjoyed the Naples Art Museum, trips to the swamp, or just sitting on her back porch to see the birds in her yard. She lived in retirement as she had throughout her life, enjoying the world’s beauty around her and inspiring others to do the same. She will be greatly missed.
Barbara is survived by her sister Dr. Sarane Boocock, her four children William, Harriet, Anne, and Catherine; her grandchildren Nicholas, Scott, Dylan, Sarah, Elizabeth, and Tal; and by her nephew Paul. She is preceded in death by her parents William Kenneth Spence and Barbara Marie Gilbreath, and by a grandson Aaron.
A private memorial service will be held August 6, 2022 in Bonita Springs, Florida.
Growing up in Illinois, she taught her sister Sarane how to read and play the piano. She studied Literature at Vassar College, graduating in 1953, and earned a graduate degree at Stanford University where she excelled at theatrical costume design. This led to interesting and creative work as a costume designer for the Dinah Shore show in California, and for NBC and the Rockettes in New York City, and later on for local community theater. She put her enthusiasm for the English language to good use when she reentered the workforce after her marriage, as a skilled copy editor and documentation librarian, and she was happiest when discussing or sharing books with friends.
Barbara loved music and the arts, and loved to travel. In the 1960s, Barbara raised her children with her husband while he worked overseas, living in Germany, Paris, and Thailand, and explored the local culture with her family. She continued to travel in retirement, especially enjoying a cruise to Alaska with all of her children and grandchildren, and was deeply inspired by trips to the ancient Native American sites in the Southwest and to the pyramids at Teotihuacan outside of Mexico City.
She visited art exhibits every place she traveled, and loved to share musical events with family and friends that ranged from local Jazz Festivals to a subscription to the Boston Lyric Opera. The opera was a special treat and she always discussed the music, absurd story lines, and spectacular costumes after every performance. Barbara felt a strong connection with the natural world around her. While living In New England she went to Plum Island to recharge, watching ocean waves break on the sand, breathing in the salty air. After moving to Florida, she loved to walk through Corkscrew Swamp near the Everglades, to sit listening to the birds and commune with nature. It was a special day when she heard an owl.
In retirement, Barbara returned to a family home in Bonita Springs, passed down to her from a great-aunt. One of the first homes built in the area in 1926, a time when there was no road from Tampa, materials were brought in along the waterways. She was happy living in the house she had loved and visited since she was a baby. She enjoyed the Naples Art Museum, trips to the swamp, or just sitting on her back porch to see the birds in her yard. She lived in retirement as she had throughout her life, enjoying the world’s beauty around her and inspiring others to do the same. She will be greatly missed.
Barbara is survived by her sister Dr. Sarane Boocock, her four children William, Harriet, Anne, and Catherine; her grandchildren Nicholas, Scott, Dylan, Sarah, Elizabeth, and Tal; and by her nephew Paul. She is preceded in death by her parents William Kenneth Spence and Barbara Marie Gilbreath, and by a grandson Aaron.
A private memorial service will be held August 6, 2022 in Bonita Springs, Florida.